She Had To Do It Repost
by mmooch
Summary: Why would Buffy hide Angel's return? Maybe we don't know the whole story! Hopefully a smoother re-post of my earlier story.
1. Prologue

**She Had To Do It**

**Story Rating:** PG-13

**Story Summary:** Maybe Buffy had a good reason for hiding Angel when he came back from hell that she couldn't tell anyone. Set during '_Revelations'_.

**Story Warnings: **Angsty, Some Swearing, Character Deaths, Violence – implied or explicit

**Story Spoilers:** Up to Season 3 BtVS and a little from all Seasons of Angel

**Story Disclaimer:** Just borrowing from Joss and his kind.

**A/N:** When I originally posted this story, a reviewer made a comment that made me realize that I wasn't clear about something. I am _not _a Buffy/Angel shipper. Honestly, it sort of creeps me out. This is about justifying _her_ action, nothing else!

**Prologue**

**At the library, just after Xander has told everyone about seeing Buffy and Angel together in the mansion.**

_Buffy starts to explain hesitantly, "I just wanted to wait--"_

_Xander interrupts angrily, "For what? For Angel to go psycho again the _next_ time you give him a happy?"_

**Later in private:**

_Giles bites out crossly, "I won't remind you that the fate of the world often lies with the Slayer. What would be the point? Nor shall I remind you that you've jeopardized the lives of all that you hold dear by harboring a known murderer. _

"_But, sadly, I _must_ remind you that Angel tortured me... For hours... For pleasure. You should have told me he was alive. You didn't. You have no respect…for me _or_ the job I perform."_

… …


	2. Chapter 1: Why Did She Do It?

**Chapter 1: Why Did She Do It?**

Rating: PG-13 due to swearing

Summary: Explanation for what she did

Warning: Swearing

Story Disclaimer: Just borrowing from Joss and his kind.

**-----------------------------**

**That night in Buffy's dreams**

Buffy looks around in her dream enraged. "Alright you SOBs! I've done what you asked! This better have been the right thing to do or I swear I will hunt you down and beat the crap out of you, _'Powers That Be'_ or not!"

The voices of the PTB speak calmly, "You would like some assurance that your action was correct?"

"Since they hate me and will probably _never_ trust me again – _especially_ Giles – damn straight I'd like _'some_ _assurance'!!"_

"What do you think would have happened if you told everyone right away? Or even had told only Giles?"

Buffy quiets down some but now is still saddened. "I don't know, but at least things would be better for the _gang_. I suppose it's possible that they would have just gone and staked Angel before he could get loose."

PTB, knowingly ask, "Why didn't _you_? Certainly you could have overpowered him. You were able to chain him up after all."

"Because I wasn't _sure_ that it was the right thing to do. I didn't know how or why he came back. Until I knew _that_, I didn't want to do anything except contain him."

"And you weren't sure that the others could have understood that?"

Buffy starts uncertainly, "That…and _maybe_ I was a little afraid that they would say that I was letting my feelings ruin my judgment where Angel's concerned. …But they _would_ be right about that."

"So if Giles had gone there and staked him, you would have _agreed_ with him? You don't think _his_ judgment would have been impaired by his feelings? Or Xander's…or Willow's, or anyone else's?

"You know, as far as Faith is concerned, she hasn't dealt with any 'good' demons. To her, it is a _'stake first and ask _no_ questions later.'_ She has a 'the only good demon is a dead demon' mindset. But _you've_ learned that sometimes the line can be blurry. Or that sometimes there can be special circumstances."

Buffy nods her head. "Okay, I'll agree with you that Faith's judgment is wacky and Xander's jealousy toward Angel would make him _overly_ biased, but I trust the others to do the right thing _regardless_ of their personal feelings…_especially_ Giles."

"Then let's _see_ what would have happened…"


	3. Chapter 2: Giles' Reaction

**Chapter 2: Giles' Reaction**

Rating: PG-13 due to quick violence and character death

Summary: How Giles reacted to Angel being back. Very short chapter

Spoilers: up to Season 3 BtVS

Warning: Quick violence, Character Death

Story Disclaimer: Just borrowing from Joss and his kind.

-----------------------------

**Library**

Buffy walks into Giles' office and begins to speak timidly, "Giles, I have to tell you something that happened last night on patrol. Angel is back. He seems different – than _either_ Angel or Angelus.

"I chained him up at the mansion until we can decide what to do with him. I mean, there must be a _reason_ he's back, right? Once we find out if that is for good or evil, then we'll know how to handle it."

**Mansion later that day…**

Giles looks at Angel with furious resolve as the vampire is chained up.

"To be honest Angel – or Angelus…whoever you are – I don't _care_ why you're back. You cause too much suffering as _either_ persona.

He aims the crossbow and shoots Angel, dusting him.

-----------------------------

PTB speak kindly to Buffy, "Your confidence in him is inspiring. However, you must remember that he is merely human and that he _is_ capable of making a mistake, however honorable his intentions are."

Buffy is confused. "So you are saying that staking Angel is the _wrong_ thing to do?"

"We're saying that you don't know that yet."

"Could you maybe give me a _clue_ or something?"

"As you wish. Here are some events from a future where he is allowed to exist…"


	4. Chapter 3: Lives Touched by Angel

**Chapter 3: Lives Touched by Angel**

Rating: PG

Summary: Whose lives were helped by Angel's continued struggle for redemption. Hint, you won't understand anything if you haven't seen the episodes.

Spoilers: up to Season 3 BtVS and a little from all Seasons of Angel

Warning: Implied Violence

Story Disclaimer: Just borrowing from Joss and his kind.

**-----------------------------**

A montage of scenes where Angel has played a crucial part in protecting or saving others starts beginning with this:

Angel grabs the Glove of Myhnegon and places it into the living flame to destroy it.'_Revelations'_

After Faith accidently kills the deputy mayor, he attempts to talk to her about redemption in order to save Faith from going down the path of evil. '_Consequences' _

After Buffy has been driven insane by the aspect of the demon, he retrieves the other demon's heart and feeds her the cure. '_Earshot' _

Then continues with scenes in LA:

When Cordelia is grabbed by a vampire protected by Wolfram and Hart, he saves her and Angel Investigations is started with their goal of 'helping the helpless.' '_City of…' _

A young woman is terrorized by a creepy doctor that can disassemble himself in order to spy on her. He locks up the different body parts in separate boxes until the stalker dies for good. '_I Fall To Pieces' _

Gunn and his street crew are trying to clear a vamp nest that now includes his sister. Angel scares the other vamps off with a threat to protect the outnumbered group. '_War Zone' _

AI is sent to another dimension where people are treated like cattle…literally. He meets and befriends a quirky girl named Fred who went missing several years ago and saves her so they can bring her home. '_There's No Place Like Plrtz Glrb' _

**-----------------------------**

Buffy asks hopefully, "So what you are trying to tell me with these images is that he _will_ do good? _Help_ other people?"

"Not just _other_ people; he helps _you_ survive on a number of occasions.

Buffy says resignedly, "That's not a big deal."

"You don't care about your _own_ future?"

Buffy looks weary. "From the first time that I was told of my calling, it was made _perfectly_ clear to me that I _had_ no future. That if I made it to my 20th birthday, it would be a miracle. So yeah, there's no point in worrying about _my_ future since it probably will only be another few years. You know: _'One Slayer dies, another is Called.'_

PTB tries to encourage her. "A future doesn't have to be 50 years to be worthwhile. Sometimes a matter of 1 _day_ is enough to make a difference - both personally and to others around you. However, there is another reason for hiding Angel…_Giles_."

**-----------------------------**

**A/N: **I know there were other BtVS and Angel episodes but these were the ones I liked best.


	5. Chapter 4: Saving Giles

**Chapter 4: Saving Giles**

Rating: PG-13

Summary: How this affects Giles' future.

Spoilers: up to Season 3 BtVS

Warning: Extreme Angst, Character Death

Story Disclaimer: Just borrowing from Joss and his kind.

-----------------------------

Buffy suddenly looks fearful. "What about Giles?! Does he die trying to stake Angel or something?"

PTB with a disappointed tone, "No, he succeeds in _that,_ only to die after betraying you in the future."

Buffy gets angry and yells vehemently, "He'd _never_ do that! You're lying! He's too good of a man for that!"

PTB say sadly, "Again your devotion and loyalty is astounding. But he _does_ betray you…even if so very reluctantly and _tries_ to redeem himself afterward. He manages to do so – to a point. However he allows his guilt to consume him, causing a fatal accident…"

-----------------------------

**As he's cleaning up her cuts in the library…**

Buffy is in pain and asks with fear in her voice, "They can't _really_ take you away from me, can they?"

Giles tries to control his emotions, "They can replace me as your Watcher, but I'll stay as long as you want me to stay. If this has taught me anything, it's that my loyalty is to _you_, not the Council. I hope that someday you might be able to trust me again. I know forgiveness is impossible but I'd still like the chance to work by your side."

Grabbing his hand, "Hey, _I_ get to decide what is forgivable and what isn't. I've done awful things too and you've forgiven _me_. I'd rather not re-hash them right now but we both can guess what some of the worst of them are. This was wrong, _horrible_ even, but it _isn't_ unforgivable.

"And you _did_ help us when we needed it. You helped us survive. Obviously, if you've ticked off that Travers guy that much, it means you aren't like 'them.' I don't think he'd care if Kralik killed half of _Sunnydale_ for the sake of his precious test. But I do forgive you."

Giles looks at her with a sad expression. "But you don't _trust_ me…"

"Honestly, it _will_ take a little while for me to trust you _completely_ again, but I'm sure it _will_ happen…and probably sooner rather than later."

----------------------------

**That evening Giles is in his apartment alone, drinking heavily and muttering to himself about betraying Buffy.**

"No I _can't_ make up for this. She's wrong; her mistakes were just that…_mistakes_. She made bad decisions based either on too little information or when she was overwhelmed by extreme emotions and lack of life experiences.

"I was _lucky_ to get her trust back after Eyghon. But this…this was a deliberate _choice_ to betray her. And it almost cost her her life and the life of her mother. I don't _deserve_ her forgiveness.

"She deserves a better Watcher. As long as she has her friends to protect her, the Watcher she gets will – at worst – be an annoyance to her. But having me around will only serve to make her wonder if she can trust _anything_ I tell her. A new Watcher will definitely serve her better.

"But on the other hand, I did pledge to never leave her unless she _asks_ me to. I can't betray that promise either. If I can help it, I'll _never_ hurt her again."

He keeps drinking, trying to figure out what to do. Finally he decides to go to bed. He only makes it halfway up the stairs before he loses his balance and falls backward.

When he hit the floor he struck his head against the wall. The injury aggravated his earlier injury head injury. This caused an aneurysm and he died within seconds.

-----------------------------

**A/N: **Medically speaking, I don't know if it could happen, but it sounds rational to me.


	6. Chapter 5: No Other Way

**Chapter 5: No Other Way**

Rating: PG

Summary: Reason why this is the only option.

Spoilers: up to Season 3 BtVS

Warning: Angst

Story Disclaimer: Just borrowing from Joss and his kind.

-----------------------------

By this point Buffy is sobbing. "Can't I just _stay_ with him to keep that from happening? Betraying him can't be the _only_ way to save his life!"

Trying to help her understand, PTB reply, "Remember, his death isn't the _only_ reason for doing this. Angel's destiny and all those he touches hinge on this as well."

Buffy starts sulking. "This isn't fair! Can't you stop _him_ from betraying me _instead?"_

"Unfortunately, that wouldn't work. If he didn't betray you, then even more people would be at risk and he wouldn't have been able to come to your rescue. You and many others would have died."

Buffy has tears in her eyes. "Will I at least ever be able to _tell_ anyone why I did this? It hurts so much that they hate me."

PTB look at her compassionately but resolutely. "No…they can never know the truth."

"Well, this _sucks_ and I _hate_ you for making me do it!"

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**A/N: **I'm considering making this a series. Frequently Buffy – or possibly others – make a decision that doesn't make sense, this will be used to explain their actions. What do you think of that idea?

**THE END**


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